Cuban Smuggling Ring Leader Gets 20 Years In Prison

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South Florida Crime

MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) — The man prosecutors described as the leader of a Cuban human smuggling ring was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The sentence was imposed last week by a South Florida federal judge on 56-year-old Antonio Comin after his conviction. He was convicted by a jury in March of nearly 100 criminal charges stemming from for-profit schemes to smuggle Cubans into the U.S. using speedboats.

Trial evidence showed that in one of those ventures, smugglers carrying 29 Cubans intentionally ran their boat aground in the Florida Keys while being chased by a Coast Guard vessel.

Seven others involved in the smuggling ring have been sentenced to prison and an eighth will be sentenced later this month.